I'm trying to decide where to plant this. Does this reseed as heavily as the Cypress Vine? I don't want to put it on the fence where it will spread all over the neighbors garden if it does.
Cardinal climber
I planted several from seeds a few weeks ago and am wondering about the same thing. The seeds sprouted really quickly and are climbing up lattice work. The leaves are really nice. I can hardly wait to see the blooms. I decided to plant a few around an oak tree. Does anyone know if they will climb up the trunk clinging to te bark or do I need to attach something for them to cling to? (konkreteblond, forgive me for asking a question on your thread)
No need for another thread, just lump all the questions together! I planted mine yesterday where it would reach up to a lattice piece above my fence. It looked like it was going to be a vigorous grower. I noticed that it doesn't look like the cypress vine, having one small vine, but has more of a trunk and several vines coming out. I think it might get thick on the bottom like my Mexican Flame Vine, rather than staying a single vine like Morning Glories etc. I put 2 staking poles behind mine and wrapped it around that so it would grow up. I'll watch what it starts to do and let you know.
Thanks for letting me share your thread. Mine are just single vines so far and are growing at a very fast pace and need no guidance ... oops ... wait a minute, let me check mine. I hadn't noticed that they are branching from the area of the first true leaves until you mentioned it and I went out to see if mine are growing like yours. You are right, they are going to have several vertical stems branching from the main stem at the base.I had been examining them to see if the had any horizontal branchings and had not paid attention to the bases. Do let me know how they do on the poles. I may need to place a pole next to the one by the oak tree.
I attached two 8' x 4' lattices side by side (about half a foot from the ground) to 'my privacy fence. They extend about 2.5 feet above the fence. To provide space between the fence and the lattices so the vines are able to twine, I placed .5 inch in diameter PVC pipe cut into 4" lenghths behind the lattice boards and then drilled screws through the front of the lattice boards and through the PVC pipe into the fence. I'm glad I don't have to tie the vines to the lattices. I planted the cardinal climbers on the left and right sides of the lattices and Scarlet Runner Beans in the middle.
I hope the Scarlet Runners Beans do not overtake the Cardinal Climbers. I have never planted either one before so I'm not sure about their growth habits. The runner beans have huge leaves. The first runner bean seeds that I had soaked overnight didn't come up so I germinated more of them in wet papertowels and then planted them. I think that pillbugs ate the first ones as they leaves came up.
About 3 feet from the lattices to the left, I pounded an 8 foot beanpole (the metal kind that has a green plastic coating with little bumps along it) into the ground and planted 2 moon vines at its base. They had the hugest seed leaves I have ever seen. The are spiralling around the beanpole, but are not growing as fast as the other 2 types of vines or maybe it just seems that way because of the tight spiralling. In other words, they may be just a long, but more closely wrapped than the other 2. I intend to train them on some kind of a structure that extends horizontally at the top of the privacy fence so that they will shade the cast iron plants that will be below them on the other side of the fence. The cast iron plants are burning up after my oaks were butchered by the utility company. The center of the oak tree right above the cast iron plants (as well as several other shade lovers) was removed.
I planted a Mexican Flame Vine that was very slow to take off, but it is now past my roof and I have started training the top growth back downward. It bloomed 3 blooms before it took off and hasn't bloomed since then. I am thinking that maybe the potting soil is too rich for it and it is only going to grow like crazy, but not bloom. The new leaves are a weird dark brownish green and very, very shiny. Then, they turn their normal color as they mature. Does your Mexican Flame Vine leaves look like this? I have tied mine to the trellis as it has grown. It has about 5 stems growing upward from the base. It has lateral branching at the top only. It may not be getting enough direct sunlight because the pot is under the garage roof eaves.
I have 2 of the beanpoles on each side of a telephone pole in my front corner flowerbed. I trained 2 queen's crown (coral vines) to go up each beanpole. As the vines started growing, I attached them to the poles with that plastic stretchy tie tape. After a few feet, I didn't need to do this and they attach themselves to the telephone pole as well as the beanpoles.. I have to keep the vines under control by guiding them so that they attach to themselves and not the crepe myrtle tree that is near by. I had to climb a ladder and pull the top parts of the vines from the telephone pole because they were nearing the wires. They look really neat now because I let the tops just fall and then interlaced them with the lower stems so it looks like a small canopy around the telephone pole about 7 to 8 feet up. No ugly telephone pole anymore, but I have lots of coral vine seedlings in my flowerbed. If these aren't pulled up when they are very young, they are very difficult to remove. Left on their own, they would smother everything.
Dave gave my a corkscrew vine as a trade and it has grown the most of all my vines except the coral vine, but it hasn't bloomed yet. I don't think it blooms until a little later in the summer. I haven't grown this one before either. So far, it doesn't have any lateral branching except from the topmost growth.
dstartz gave me a 'Gold Flame' honeysuckle vine at the Central Texas Roundup that has very beautiful blooms, but it doesn't have any blooms now. It has done very well, but has very little lateral branching and only one stem growing vertically.
I have 2 areas with black-eyed Susan vines. I have been giving away lots of babies that are still springing up. I received a 'Lemon Star' from a very nice lady through a trade. I had been looking for one at the nurseries here, but couldn't find one. She bought a containered one and discovered that there were actually 2 in the pot. So she very kindly sent me one of them. It is still small, but is starting to take off.
Gosh, I have really strayed from the subject. I have been wanting to grow vines for such a long time and finally have some but don't quite have the hang of it yet.. I guess you can tell I am excited about them. :o)
You woke up this morning with a lot of energy! lol Did you dream about all those vines and how to control them last night? I've done that, felt like I was awake all night with my mind racing about what to plant, move, trim, throw out etc.
My Mexican Flame Vine did that last year. It didn't flower until quite a bit later in the summer, then it full of blooms. It grew really thick and I'd have to even cut back some of it that was trying to grow out across the ground. Mine is a darker green than my other vines, but my soil usually makes things light green.
I have a couple of moonvines growing this year too. I got disgusted at mine year before last because it grew so big and no blooms, so I didn't plant any last year and missed it. I told it that it was fixing to be gone, and then it started blooming. lol (I always say, just threaten them) It didn't bloom until late summer either, so don't worry about it being so slow growing. It's got plenty of time to thicken up.
I also have Hyacinth beans, white and purple. Grasshoppers are chomping on them tho so it's taking them a while to get some height on them. I've got a small Chain of Love vine that has only grown about 6 inches so far. I'm not sure what's up with that one. I got it from a lady who was selling plants she had potted at her garage sale. It did come back so there is hope.
A neighbor behind the neighbor beside me built a deck for his above ground swimming pool. That was ok when it was just kids jumping, but he sat lawn chairs up there and could just sit and watch us in our yard. So I made a lattice top to the fence, 8 x 2 and nailed small boards across it and then some up and down for stability. Then we sat it on the top rail of the fence (not the top of the actual fence) and attached it. It blocks him and gave me something for vines.
I have a passionvine that has reached it, so I'm hoping it will cover part of it. 8ft down at the next pole I have another pv, but it's only about 6 inches. It was lame last year too. I transplanted a couple of Morning Glories next to it and it looks like they survived, so they will grow up that pole and mix with the PV. Then about 3ft more down at the end are Hyacinth beans and some more Morning Glories that are all coming up from last year. They should cover the end and the corner fence. That ought to take care of my Peeping Tom for a while! :)
Oh, I almost forgot that about 4ft after the first PV is where I planted the Cardinal Climber, so that will be growing over there too. If everything grows, it could be one big mess. lol
Here is a pic of my flame vine last Oct.
Actually, I wrote the above in the middle of the night and then forgot to post it until the morning. I was out with a flashlight examining my vines. The neighborhood security guard stopped and sked me if I ever slept. :o)
I remember seeing your photo of your Mexican Flame Vine. It has reached the top of the trellis ... do I just let it keep doing its thing? I have sent some of the shoots down the trellis and am securing them as the grow.
Thanks for the info on the moonvine. Does it self-seed a lot?
I forgot to plant the puple Hyacinth bean seeds and just thought about them yesterday. I guess it is too late to plant them now. It is such a beautiful vine too.
It sounds like the peeping Tom will not be able to peep pretty soon. :o)
I too am afraid that I might have a big mess soon too. :o)
Thanks for all of the info.
Can't resist jumping in here...htop, the hyacinth bean vine seeds sprout so quickly that you would have good growth in a very short time. Not sure there would be enough time for the blossoms to go to mature seeds, but you can hold back a few seeds from your supply to plant next year. They hold their viability at least 4 years.
I took the advice recently, and stapled deer netting around my pergola posts. The cardinal climber loves it, and it is nearly invisible netting! I just returned from vacation and the vine had grown 5', and wove about the netting without my help. I had to add another net to the top of the pergola this morning, as it is ready to start making a roof for me now! yippee. Maybe some shade in a few weeks! Ahhhhh.
I also attached a small piece to the fence for my ((((dwarf)))) mexican flame vine LOL, and the hyacinth bean.
I love this Deer Netting stuff!
Mel
Deer netting! That sounds like a really good solution (to having some poles, but no crosspieces or lattice.) Where do you buy it? How did you attach it?
Hazel, did you just recently start your moonflower seed? I'm wishing I had tried moonflower again this year, but thought it might be too late. I'm just now soaking some Star of Yelta morning glory seeds, they're supposed to be okay even at this late date.
I believe that the deer netting was from Wal Mart. It came in a large roll. The roll is about 3' wide, but unfolds to about 6'. We had it from a previous project to protect tomatoes (what a pain) from birds...
I used a staple gun to attach them, as the wood is semi-soft.
My moonflowers came up late this year, and are only 2-3 ft tall, so it might not be too late.... as they bloom so late anyway!
Mel =D
Mel, I thought you had Cypress vines growing on that pergola? I've got the red, and hopefully white, Cypress vines growing too, but this Cardinal Climber is a different vine. (I found a whole thread somewhere here about how some people have always called these 2 vines Cypress) I got this Cardinal Climber the other day at Redenta's. It has thick, dark green leaves rather than the fine feathery foliage.
I am still waiting for 2 of those Scarlett Runner beans to sprout. ?
I actually have one of each, but the tallest one is in fact the cypress vine. The cardinal is only a foot tall now.
The Chain of Love vine is nearly 5 feet tall though! Yippee!
Wow! Yours must be in a good spot. Mine is alive, but barely there. I forgot I planted another one in a spot where I cut down some honeysuckle, but it grew back. If neither of these get going I might go by that ladies house again and see if she's got anything for sale. :)
Have you had the Cardinal Climber before or is it new? Do the flowers look just like the Cypress?
Yuska, thanks for telling me about the hyacinth beans. I'll plant a few and see what happens.
Mel, how clever to use deer netting. I would never have thought of that. Do you think I could wrap it around an oak tree trunk so the cardinal climber would be able to cling to it?
Is the chain of love vine you are talking about the coral vine (Antigonon leptopus) that we call queen's crown here? If so, small one's or those from seed take a while to become established, but once they do they become very large. They self-seed quite a bit. If the new plants come up where you don't want them to be, you have to pull them up when they are very small because if you don't, they are very difficult to remove as I mentioned above.
The runner bean seeds I first planted didn't come up. The package of seeds was old, but you would think that they would have been still viable. Of the next seeds that I germinated in a wet paper towels that were from a different seed package, all but 2 came up. I left the paper towels and seeds outside in the shade and they germinated in 2 or 3 days. I had read somewhere that there is some kind of an insect that will eat the runner beans as they are germinating in the ground and it is better to start them in containers and then plant them in the ground after the first true leaves appear.
Does anyone out there know the answer to koncreteblond's original question about whether the cardinal climber reseeds a lot?
I can't take credit for the deer netting.... I posted a question recently in the vines and climbers forum asking about what people used for letting their vines climb. I was given several suggestions, and one lady sent me pictures of her vines around trees and some up latice that she had attached deer netting to! I thought it was a BRILLIANT idea, and then discovered that we already had a huge roll of it in the garage when cleaning a week later!
The stuff is nearly invisible, but easy to attach and maintenance free. They did suggest not to use it with multiple clematis, that had different pruning requirements.... it would be a nightmare to get them off of!
KK: I wonder if we could make cuttings of our chain of love... HTop, not sure if mine is the same, I will have to look that one up!
mel
Mel, you might be able to make cuttings, but mine is too small! Mine IS a cutting. lol I'm thinking that Frostweed had coral vine, and it was different. ?? I need to remember to drive by that ladies house and see if her vine is big.
I don't know what deer netting is, and apparently it is invisible since I didn't see it on your pergola. I have some stuff that I've been using for vines. I got it on clearance last year at WM and thought it looked like it could be useful. It's a roll of plastic stuff that looks like fence. I just cut it off the roll and staple it on the fence. It's not totally invisible, but not noticable.
htop, I would go ahead and plant some more hyacinths now too. Our summers last long enough that I bet you will be able to see them bloom.
I'm going to go out and dig and see if those Scarlett Runner bean seeds are still there.
Mel, what luck to have found the deer netting in the garage.
This is the coral vine:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/52544/
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/27468/
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/2932/
If it is the same as yours, it seems to be difficult to propagate by cuttings. It is even sometimes difficult to get going as a small transplant. I think I have several small ones that I need to dig up. Sometimes It takes them a year or so to really take off. I think that they have large tuberous or tap roots when mature. I promised someone else the babies I have dug up so far, but if I have more, I will share them with you two if you want them. I hate to throw anything away. I'll let you know. I wished I had none sooner that someone wanted them. I threw about 9 small ones away about a month ago.
konkreteblond, I saw that stuff you bought at WM in a lady's garden in the next subdivision. She and I have become gardening buddies. She bought hers last year and placed it around an oak tree trunk so the vines could climb easily. I went to buy some and they were all out of it. I had completely forgotten about it this year. Thanks for reminding me about it. I haven't noticed it at walmart this year. Did you buy it in the garden center area?
This is so great ... now I have 2 solutions to having my vines supported. Thank you both. :o)
Do any of you 3 know of a shade loving, blooming vine? I had asked this before on another thread and someone suggested vining hydrangea. There are 3 types. One clings with ariela roots and one twines. I would rather have the twining kind; but, I have never seen one growing anywhere or maybe I didn't know what it was.
htop, I do believe that IS the same vine. I feel better now knowing it will take a while to get going, since mine are small. I guess I might leave the smallest one where it is since you say it gets a big root. I sure am looking forward to seeing it blooming. Is yours big enough to bloom?
Yes, I got that plastic netting stuff in the WM garden center. I think it's got some picture of a man and tomatoes on the packaging. It's not stiff tho, like tomato cages.
Gotta run out to find a parking spot to watch fireworks! I'll be thinking if I know of a shade vine...
Yes, htop that is my vine too. She is growing well. I do hope that I can get some flowers from her this year though! You have some beautiful shots of yours!
Mel